biscuit

I think the most devastating blow was Morneau's concussion. He was at the top of his game, having a career year in a career filled with greatness. He never got that back. Mauer's decline seems to be directly related to Morneau's. When Mauer was at his best, a healthy MVP-class Justin Morneau was batting right behind him.

Perkins and Dozier (Dozier probably out of luck with a few very good 2nd basemen in the league: Altuve, Cano, Pedroia, Kinsler, etc.).

Well written piece. And of course last night Boyer gives up a dinger. I'll give him a pass on this one. After all, it was McCutcheon. Tee Hee.

I don't know if Hicks is ready. The list is long of players who ate it up at AAA, but who just couldn't do the job in the bigs. But I'm pretty sure Schafer is ready to go elsewhere.

I hope so. Right now, it doesn't look good.

Jacque Jones seemed to really enjoy playing baseball. He often had a big smile on his face as he played, even when he'd make an out. Some folks thought that was an indication that he didn't care. I always thought it was the demeanor of a man who truly loved his job. He could be frustrating at times, but I really missed him after he was gone.

Is Max Kepler really going to play in New Britain? Is it possible he might go to Chattanooga instead?

I went down to Scottsdale in October to see Buxton play. The night before I boarded my plane in Mpls, Buxton broke his finger. I still went to a game at Talking Sticks Park. Rosario went 1-4. Two of his outs were very hard hit liners. His hit was a seeing single. In addition, he made a couple of very nice throws from left field: one that prevented a run from scoring and another that got a guy out at 2nd. Then the 2nd baseman blew the tag. Eddie Rosario may find himself in the bigs before next season is done.

It may be a good idea to get a young manager because a younger guy can relate to young ballplayers. Look at Gardenhire and Kelly: both were young when they were picked to manage. In fact, Kelly was very young. And look how well they relate to young ballplayers: famous for it.

I have always been under the impression that sliding is done to avoid a tag, avoid overrunning a base, or break up a throw. Knowing little about the physics of motion, I still think that sliding slows the runner down. Yet, on several occasions I have seen Twins runners sliding into first base: tag not required, overrunning first is OK, and generally the runner does not need to break up a throw from first. Today, Brian Dozier slud into first and was out on a very close call. The play could have been crucial to the game; fortunately, it was not. The thing is, if he had run through the bag, he likely would have been safe. After seeing that today, I'm having nightmares of Punto. It isn't hustle; it's stupid.

Correia? Milone? Meh. Big question - will they get anyone worthwhile from Dodgers?

I don't know. You are right. Ugly. Reminds me of something I wore in beer league softball.

Too many utility players permeate this roster. The team is atrocious with runners in scoring position. They work hard, they try hard, and they play hard. They just ain't good enough. Well these guys should never be regular starters on a Major League ballclub: Plouffe, Arcia, Colabello (sp?) Parmelee, Nunez, Escobar, and maybe Dozier. That's 7 out of 12 fielders/hitters. Pretty pathetic bunch.

I probably missed it somewhere, but is there any news at all on the Eddie Rosario front?

OK. Did I miss something here? Gibson not in the 50? Or is he no longer considered a prospect?

No!

Gardenhire's case reminds me of a quote from former minor league manager, Rocky Bridges, and the title of a Jim Bouton book: "I managed good, but boy did they play bad".

Colabello was rockin in Spring Training as well as in the World Baseball Classic, and he sure is pounding it down in Rochester. But in the WBC, he was having a lot of trouble with breaking balls from right handed pitchers. Is that still a problem? If it is, those guys will eat him up in the bigs. (note - I did not say Major League level)

Agree with you on Morneau. No way in the world can they let him go and plug Parmalee (Sp?) into his slot. Parm has pretty much had a full season to prove that he can't hit big league pitching.

Hey, now. Don't be dissing on St. Cloud State arts majors. Unless you happen to be one.

People are still talking about Parmelee as a replacement for Morneau. Right now, Parmelee couldn't replace Butera at the plate, yet alone, Morneau. He ain't got it.

When Bobby Witt was with Texas, he had some very good games against the Twins.

Hicks is not the only one not hitting; although, he's certainly flailing the worst right now. Doumit and Dozier are terrible, and Parmalee (sp?) ain't so good either. If Arcia hits, keep him up.

Hey. Doumit and Hicks combined are batting .218. How can it hurt to have Arcia fill in for either one of them?

While the rotation suspects were flailing in Florida, Sam Deduno was pitching for real, in games that were meaningful for him and his teammates, against Major League ballplayers. Yes, he struggled with control, but we knew that about him. And yes, the fastball looked troublesome, but we knew that also. But how are the likes of Correia, Worley, Pelfry, etc. better than he at the moment? Holy crap! Give the team a chance. Throw him in there. I recall that he pitched a pretty good game at Texas last summer. Even if he can only go 5 innings, those five might be better than 5 of Correia.